Opened on 25 July 1997 under the name Motopark Oschersleben, it was Germany's fourth permanent racing circuit at the time of its construction, after the Nürburgring, Hockenheimring, and Sachsenring. Its arrival added a modern, purpose-built facility to a country whose existing permanent circuits were all long-established venues with deep pre-war histories.
The circuit quickly attracted FIA-sanctioned international competition. It hosted rounds of the FIA European Touring Car Championship from 2002 to 2004 before that series evolved into the World Touring Car Championship, which continued to use Oschersleben as a venue for the FIA WTCC Race of Germany from 2005 to 2011. This seven-year run as a World Touring Car Championship venue established the circuit's international credentials in the touring car world.
The layout rewards consistent lap construction but punishes mistakes, particularly at the opening corner. The first turn was modified from its original rounded shape to a sharp 90-degree left, and it became notorious for multi-car incidents, especially on race starts. British Touring Car Championship driver and commentator John Cleland famously remarked that its designer should be "taken into a dark room and beat about the head."
Beyond the first corner, the lap offers a variety of challenges. The long finish straight creates high-speed entry conditions into the following braking zones, and the McDonald's chicane presents drivers with multiple available lines, though an aggressive approach risks heavy contact with the kerbs and suspension damage.
Oschersleben has hosted an unusually broad spectrum of racing categories during its operational history. In motorcycle racing, it hosted rounds of the Superbike World Championship and the Supersport World Championship from 2000 to 2004, and continues to host rounds of the IDM Superbike Championship. The FIM Endurance World Championship's 8 Hours of Oschersleben was a recurring event from 1999 to 2019.
On the car racing side, the circuit hosted the FIA GT Championship from 1998 to 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship in 2009 and 2010, the International Formula 3000 in 1998, the Formula Three Euroseries in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010, and numerous rounds of the Formula BMW ADAC, ADAC Formel Masters, ADAC Formula 4, and ATS Formel 3 Cup. The ADAC GT Masters used the circuit from 2007 to 2022 and returned in 2024. In recent years it has also hosted the NASCAR GP Germany event as part of the NASCAR Euro Series, and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
Current annual events include the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, the ADAC GT4 Germany Championship, the IDM Superbike Championship, and the Sidecar World Championship.
In under three decades of operation, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben has established itself as one of Germany's most active and versatile permanent circuits. Its role as a World Touring Car Championship venue through the 2000s brought consistent international exposure, and its willingness to host categories ranging from Formula One's support ladder through superbikes to endurance racing and the Sidecar World Championship has made it a consistent presence on European motorsport calendars. As a modern circuit built to contemporary safety standards from the outset, it represents a different model from Germany's historic venues — purpose-designed rather than evolved, and oriented from its founding toward the broadest possible range of racing disciplines.